The five declared Democratic candidates for president will debate each other in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, but the CNN moderators are expected to focus the debate on the two leading contenders, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Also on the stage will be former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, and former Sen. Jim Webb (Va.). "The debates will alter the race," said Stephanie Cutter, a Democratic strategist and veteran of President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. "Clinton will no longer be running against herself," she said, adding that time is running out for the bottom three candidates, and one in particular: "This is the last best chance for Martin O’Malley."
The Democratic Party is pretty united on policy issues, so CNN will be trying to spark fights over whatever fissures it can find whenever possible. The candidates, meanwhile, will likely play to the Democratic base. "There is a consensus around the idea that the path to the nomination and the path to the White House necessitates mobilizing the Obama coalition," said former Obama official Dan Pfeiffer, referring to the growing ranks of young, liberal, minority, and unmarried female voters whose support helped elect and re-elect Obama. "That works for us because two things have happened: The country has moved to the left on social issues and economic issues, and the politics of national security now lean more toward avoiding the next Iraq than looking for the next Iraq."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Sudoku hard: November 15, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
